3/07/2009

people like this make me sick

i heard about this at work, and found the article in the online version of our newspaper. whoever killed this dog deserves to die a very slow, painful death. there must be a special place in hell for fuckers that would do something like this. this saddens me to think people are out there, that think this is normal, or ok, to do. i have a feeling it was probably some young assholes, who thought this was funny.like i said, may they rot in hell for all eternity.

Disabled dog found shot in headBy Barbara Soderlin, Journal staff Saturday, March 07, 2009A Humane Society worker had never seen anything like Libby when the puppy's owner brought her in to be euthanized four years ago. So she took the little golden retriever to veterinarian Kris Trautman."She didn't want to euthanize an otherwise healthy dog," Trautman said. And Libby was healthy; she just looked different, with front legs that hadn't developed past the elbow.

Trautman thought she was cute, and took her home. "She could fit in the palm of my hand," she said.Trautman taught Libby how to roll over, using treats as inspiration, and soon, the dog figured out how to walk, using her elbows to lean on."She did that on her own," Trautman said. "I was proud. I was a proud mom. I also knew she had a bigger purpose than to be my pet."Trautman learned that one of her horse clients, Ann Van Loan, was executive director of an organization that helps people with disabilities live independently.Van Loan adopted her and took her to work at Western Resources for dis-ABLED Independence to meet the agency's clients. She also took her to schools to teach children about acceptance."Their first reaction was to pet her and love her," Trautman said. "You see the fuzzy puppy first and the missing legs second. That's what her purpose was: to tell people you need to look at that first."On Wednesday, Van Loan noticed Libby was missing from the yard of her home on Bogus Jim Road in western Pennington County. She and her family scouted the area, looking for the dog even farther away than Libby could possibly have walked on her own. They called the Humane Society and alerted the public in case anyone had seen the missing dog.On Thursday afternoon, the Van Loans' son, Mike, went searching again. He drove down the Forest Service roads by his parents' home."I was driving real slow and calling her name," he said. He got to the intersection of two forest roads, almost at the bottom of his folks' driveway."I saw her laying in the middle of the road," he said, "just laying in a pool of blood."He picked her up, put her in the bed of his truck, drove her home, and dug a grave. He thought maybe an animal had attacked Libby. But as he looked at her body, the only injury seemed to be a hole in her muzzle, and he realized it could be a gunshot wound."I drove back down the road to where she was laying, and there was no blood drops coming or going," Van Loan said. He called the sheriff.The deputy told him they'd need an X-ray to know for sure, so Van Loan took Libby back to Trautman.The veterinarian took the X-rays Friday on the dog she helped raise, and saw bullet fragments throughout Libby's head.Libby's name is short for Liberty Bell, she explained."Because she's beautiful," she said through tears, "and even though she's got disabilities, she was acting like any other puppy. She was free."Killing another person's animal is a Class 1 misdemeanor under state statute, and could be punishable by a maximum sentence of one-year imprisonment in a county jail and a $2,000 fine.Sheriff's deputy Jason Mitzel is investigating and will be talking more with Van Loan's neighbors to see if anyone heard anything unusual. He said because the bullet broke into fragments, it will be hard to tell what type of gun was used. He said he is counting on the public's help for information that could help solve the case."Hopefully, somebody will have a heart and decide to let us know what happened," he said.Ann Van Loan said Friday she is struggling with the "senseless" loss of her dog.She believes Libby had to have been taken from her property, then brought back the next day, shot and left in the road."This is a huge loss for me and my family, but it's even a bigger loss for our people with disabilities," she said. Knowing Libby "helped people who have disabilities understand a little bit more, you can live with your disability and just go forward in life."How to help:The Van Loan family and others are offering a reward of $500 for information that helps sheriff's deputies solve the crime. To contribute, call Western Resources for dis-ABLED Independence at 718-1930. If you have information about the shooting, call the Pennington County Sheriff's Office at 394-6113.

3 comments:

This makes me so mad! I volunteered with the SPCA and I saw a lot of this. My cat Lonnie whom I love so much, was abused. It took me a long time for him to trust me. Now that he does he sucks my hair at night like a kitten. I am with you I hope they catch this person and light their nuts on fire!